Canada, British Columbia - The head of the Crown corporation that built the Port Mann Bridge says the company is reviewing yesterday's closure of the multi-billion-dollar span after snow and ice fell from the bridge's support cables, injuring two people and damaging several vehicles.

Mike Proudfoot, the CEO of the Transportation Investment Corporation, admits the coating on the cables that was supposed to push snow away from the deck didn't work.

But, he says, Wednesday was an unusual day.

"This is an extreme weather situation," he said.

"It is very rare, especially in the Lower Mainland, but it does occur and it has had similar effects on other cable stay bridges in other jurisdictions ... Snow can accumulate on any structure over roadways and no bridge is immune to it but what we saw was a very unusual combination of winter conditions."

Proudfoot says engineers were sent to the bridge and the contractor has been asked to come up with plans to avoid such problems in the future.

The corporation says it will forgive the toll and pick up the insurance deductible for vehicles damaged on the bridge.

Winter Storm Draco will continue to dump heavy snow and bring strong winds to the Upper Midwest through Thursday night. Blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings remain in effect for several states in the region. Significant travel disruption is likely. Draco initially brought heavy snow and wind to the West earlier this week before spreading across the Plains and Upper Midwest Wednesday into Thursday. As we close out the week, Draco will sweep through the East Coast with rain and wind while turning on the lake-effect snow machine in the Great Lakes. The warm side of Draco has resulted in severe thunderstorms and tornado reports in the South.

As Draco's low intensifies and swings northeastward across the Great Lakes through Thursday night, moderate to locally heavy snow or rain changing to snow is expected in parts of the upper-Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes, targeting Iowa, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northern Missouri and northern Michigan.

Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are likely at times in the heaviest snow bands and you may hear some rumbles of thunder during the snowstorm as well. Storm total snowfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches (locally more than a foot) are expected in the heaviest snow swath from parts of Iowa to Wisconsin and northern Michigan.

A major winter storm moving across the nation Wednesday is threatening to disrupt travel plans for millions of Americans heading home for Christmas. The weather system even has package delivery companies nervously checking out the forecast, with the timely delivery of precious gifts on the line.

"We're closely monitoring the storm," FedEx spokesman Scott Fiedler told NBC News. "We have a team of 15 meteorologists who track the weather around the world every day."

FedEx is seeing only minor delays so far but has contingency plans in place to help mitigate any effects of the weather, Fiedler said.

UPS, which projects that Thursday will be its busiest day of the holiday season, also has its staff meteorologists tracking the storm.

Up to 12 inches of further snowfall is forecast for parts of northern New England - and a second wintry storm is crossing the U.S. in its wake, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth. The current snowfall in northern New York state and New England will continue through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, with as much as 15 inches possible in some areas. Meanwhile, another cross-country storm - Winter Storm Draco - was expected to bring heavy snow to the Northwest on Monday. The higher elevations of the Cascades will see as much as 2 to 3 feet of snow above 7000 ft, Weather.com reported, with significant accumulations below 3000 ft.

The National Weather Service said the probability of "large amounts of snow remains high across the majority of windward facing slopes of the Pacific Northwest and portions of the Northern Rockies." King5.com reported that the storm is expected to bring high winds to Western Washington and whiteout conditions to the west slopes of the Cascades and passes. The system is expected to move to the Southwest and Rockies Tuesday and Wednesday before bringing snow to the eastern half of the country later Wednesday through Friday. Roth added there would likely be a lake-effect snow threat behind the storm on Thursday and Friday. -NBC

A cold snap has finally walloped much of Iran, bringing heavy snow, and leading to the temporary closure of a large section of intercity roads and schools. The cold weather has dropped as much as one meter of snow in the mountains, and sizeable inches in big cities and towns, like Tehran, where the National Weather Service says the temperature is above freezing.

The Ministry of Education says many schools have been closed nationwide and probably will remain so if heavy snow continues to cause limited visibility and freezing temperatures.

There have been no major accidents until now, thanks largely to the early preparation of the transport police, and of course round the clock snow plows to keep roads open. But the police are still urging drivers to check road and vehicle conditions before heading out.

During the last two days, wet snow in Kyiv exceeded an index that had been recorded for 130 years of weather observations, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration with reference to the Hydrometeorological Centre reports.

"During December 11-12, Kyiv had a complex of severe weather phenomena, including snow and wet snow on wires and trees, which had exceeded previously recorded index for the entire period of meteorological observations in the capital since 1881," the press service noted.

According to the forecasters, as of December 12, the snow depth amounted to 45 cm.

For December 11-12, the total precipitations numbered 42 mm, and in general, it has amounted to 103 mm since the beginning of December. Before that, the maximum daily precipitation was recorded in December of 1930 - 41 mm, and monthly - 116 mm in December of 1937.

According to the Hydrometeorological Centre, there will be a drop in temperature in the coming days.

Minneapolis - The heaviest snowstorm to hit the region in two winters, named Caesar by The Weather Channel, dumped heavy snow across a broad belt of Minnesota including the Twin Cities area Sunday, as well as parts of western Wisconsin.

A snowfall totalling 10.5 inches fell on Minneapolis, setting a daily record that eclipsed the previous mark of 7.4 inches set in 1961. The total was the fourth-highest for December in the history of the Twin Cities. Daily records of 11 inches fell in St. Cloud, MN, and 12.5 in Eau Claire, WI.

"The amazing combination of snow, wind and colder temperatures combined to produce the blizzard conditions over a three-state area," said Tom Niziol, the winter weather expert for The Weather Channel.

"It's interesting because it was a swath of heavier snow that moved across the Dakotas and in through Minnesota during the day and evening hours yesterday. For a major winter storm, a large-scale storm, the heavier snow was in a narrow corridor. We got as much as 17 inches of snow in Sacred Heart (MN), 14 inches in Hendrick (MN), and if we zoom into Minneapolis these are amazing snowfall totals. I believe these are Top 5 for December calendar days that go back all the way to the 1800s."